Mission Beach Cassowaries
  • ABOUT CASSOWARIES
    • Cassowary ID and tracking >
      • Sightings maps
    • World Cassowary Day 2015
  • NEWS
  • Information
    • Developments
    • Thorsborne Trail NOT FOR SALE >
      • MARGARET 'T' AO 1927-2018
    • Walking tracks
    • Birding
    • Lot 66/Garrett Corridor
    • Publications
    • Mission Beach Naturally >
      • Community Identity
    • Heritage
  • Photo Gallery
    • Fauna >
      • Cassowary
      • Birds
      • Mammals
      • Reptiles
    • Flora >
      • Flowers
      • Plants and trees
      • Fungi
    • Scenic
  • Contact
    • Privacy policy

And another one......!

27/11/2015

2 Comments

 
Picture
Photo supplied


A  young cassowary was  hit by a vehicle as it was crossing the Tully Mission Beach road with its father and  two siblings early  yesterday morning 24 Nov. 

The driver of the vehicle did not stop or report the incident.  Another driver came across the  heart rending scene of the male cassowary standing over his dead chick.

This death brings the shocking toll of cassowaries killed on our regions roads this year to at least 16.

The  grotesque photo below is of a subject that is becoming way  too familiar with no action being taken.
 Despite  numerous calls and emails from Terrain,  the Main Roads representative has not  responded to requests  to progress the outcomes of a  Cassowary Vehicle Strike  workshop held on September 11. Nor has there been any response to requests Main Roads  be represented  at the Cassowary Recovery Team meeting next Tuesday despite the workshop they participated in being a major agenda item.

The research has been done, we know where the cassowaries are being killed and why, solutions have been suggested, the technology is available. Solutions may  even be relatively inexpensive.
Picture
Photo Ingrid Marker
Cassowaries are at the top of the list  of reasons  visitors  are attracted to Mission Beach.  As a major tourism asset and tourism being the main economy for Mission Beach, the benefits of keeping cassowaries alive far outweigh the cost of traffic management solutions.

Each death wrenches the heart of a community that cares about cassowaries. There is growing   frustration and anger of the inaction from all levels of government.

There is a simple solution;
Appropriate traffic management to slow the traffic at the known cassowary road crossings such as where this latest death happened.

Why are all the governments ignoring this  carnage of our cassowaries on their roads?

We can only hope for the best that an anticipated increase of traffic  at Mission Beach during the end of the year holiday  period  does not increase the already unacceptable number of cassowaries that have died on local roads  in 2015.



Contact;
Liz Gallie  0414 402315 or 07 4068 7315
missionbeachcassowaries@gmail.com

Threatened Species Commissioner's facebook post re cassowary death Nov 4

Mission Beach Cassowaries report on Vehicle Strike workshop

Traffic biggest risk to cassowaries - Terrain workshop

See comments on  Mission Beach Cassowaries facebook


Photos from three of the road kill incidences  this year.
2 Comments
Corinnq
25/11/2015 11:29:07 am

I wish to share my concerns about Cassowarries and their safety in the CCRC region. More than a dozen Cassowarries disappeared in the last 10 months. Either killed by uncontrolled dogs or uncontrolled drivers. Most of the speeding along the 80 zones could be stopped by implementing road bumpers. It won't interfere with tourism as most of the tourists come to watch Cassowarries , to get a photo of the big Cassowarry road signs and hopefully a pic of the magnificent birds.
It is actually the locals who ignore wildlife and traffic rules.
I believe, restrictions via speed bumps and enforced animal control (dog traps) may be the best solutions.
Cheers,
Corinna Bullock

Reply
Errol Colman
26/11/2015 10:05:11 am

Traffic speed management is not without its cost in terms of lost road use efficiency. Main Roads need to look at all costs. That said there is a cheap solution that does not affect road use efficiency at all. That solution is fencing and modifying existing bridges to allow cassowaries to use them as underpasses. This eliminates rather than just reduces the risk of conflict. It does not involve major new structures though would it hurt to build over or underpasses at the most frequented locations as well? This is a once off cost with no ongoing loss of road use efficiency ad infinitum.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.


    Mission Beach Cassowaries facebook page
    Follow the lives of individual cassowaries on facebook

    Picture
    Friends of Ninney Rise
    Ninney Rise
    - the inspiring
     conservation history of Mission Beach


    Lot 66
    a Mission Beach buyback success story
     


    Picture
    Russell Constable's blog is packed full of information about Ella Bay and region

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    October 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    December 2014
    September 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    November 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011

    Categories

    All
    Ash
    Birds
    Boat Bay
    Bush Tucker
    Butterflies
    Cassowaries
    Cassowary Coast
    Cca
    Coquette Point
    Cowley Beach
    Crocodiles
    Cyclones
    Cyclone Yasi
    Development
    Flowers
    Flying Foxes
    Frogs
    Fungi
    Insects
    Johnstone River
    Little Terns Nesting
    Mahogany Glider
    Mangrove Dieback
    Marine
    Mission Beach
    Port Hinchinbrook
    Rainforest Fruit
    Sediment Runnoff
    Snakes
    Spiders
    Threats
    Tourism
    Tully Heads
    Turtles
    Wildwatch
    W P S Q Tully Branch


© All content on this website (except where otherwise stated) is copyright Mission Beach Cassowaries All Rights Reserved If copying or publishing  content or information from this site please credit and link to Mission Beach Cassowaries Inc. website Except where otherwise credited, all photos on this website are copyright and must have permission to reproduce